My Competitor Has a Better Product

The topic of this issue's article is a response to a question submitted by one of my newsletter readers.

QUESTION - "At the moment, my competitor's have a far better product/deal, due to circumstances out of my control. However, customers go to the competitor and then come to me to compare. How do I go about convincing the customer that our service/product is better even though on paper it isn't???"

ANSWER - Thanks for the question. I'm going to answer this to the extent that I can without knowing what it is that you or your competitor sell.

I believe that this is a common experience for many of us in sales. Customers use us for free for all kinds of freebies - information, demos, test drive's, consulting, etc. Sure, it is good to give away something free to expose people to your offering (my newsletter is an example of this).

This has gone way too far however, and it's our fault in the sales profession. We have been bludgeoned into thinking that we must do whatever it is that the customer asks of us. That we should jump through hoops like trick dogs, if that gets us just a little bit closer to *possibly* getting a sale.

Freebies should be used as a marketing tool. The purpose of freebies is to generate a lead. And that's where the free giveaways should end. Once you have the lead, and are able to engage the customer in live conversation, the marketing ends and the selling begins.

Successful selling is an exchange of value for value. It has always been this way since people traded grains and cloth for chickens and pigs. Today as sales professionals we are "representing" a company and its products. This is why we are called "sales representatives". We act as the agent, representing our company in the trade, representing our company in the exchange of value for value.

As sales reps, we offer significant value to our prospective customers. Yes our products have value, but I am not talking about that. The value that we offer is our knowledge and our time. We know a lot about our products, about our industry, about future trends in our marketplace, about our competition, and many other things.

We sell our products every day. Our customers (most of them at least) do not buy these products every day. So our knowledge has value. If you don't believe this to be true, then you either need to think about this a little more, or you work in an industry that is about to get disintermediated by ecommerce.

So what should you do?

Respect your value as a salesperson.

Get commitments from your prospects.

Get a commitment - Qualify them first for pains/wants, budget, and decision capability, Then before presenting details about your product. Get a commitment to make a definitive decision upon completion of your presentation or the proof step of your sales cycle. For this to work, you must have asked really good questions to elicit the important pains/wants that are driving the sale. You must know that they have the money to buy it. And you must be presenting to the decision-maker.

You only have so much time in a day, so use it well. If you chase every deal that comes your way, you are losing real sales that you could have gone out and looked for.

Break any of these rules, and you are simply rolling the dice. (Yeah I know, this works for some people - but you'll never make it really big in sales winging it this way).

Notice that what I outlined above is the reverse order of the way many salespeople have learned to sell. The key thing that I am telling you to do here, is to present AFTER you have qualified the prospect and AFTER you have a commitment to make a decision.

If you have a long sales cycles involving multiple levels of decision-making, you can use this same approach. Instead of getting a commitment for a decision up-front, you can get a commitment to be taken to the appropriate next step. That could be a meeting with a higher-level decision-maker, or it could be earning the right to give a presentation to a more influential audience. I call this "chaining commitments".

This is the best solution. By getting commitments, you will stop wasting time with the people who aren't serious about you. By asking good questions up-front (a topic for another newsletter), you may uncover something that your competitor missed, giving you a chance to change the rules of the sale set early on by your competitor's getting there first.

If your product isn't better, I don't believe that you can persuade or convince someone that it is. Most people aren't stupid. They will figure out eventually that you are trying to pull one over on them, if they don't figure that out while you are actually trying to do it to them.

Lastly, even with the most competitive products, the number two product usually has some advantages over the number one product. Determine these advantages, and focus your selling efforts on the prospects who want such benefits. Create questions designed to uncover the pains/wants that would cause someone to want such benefits. Follow the process above of questions and commitments first, presentations last, and you'll find yourself making money even when you aren't selling for the number one company.

© 1999-2004 Shamus Brown, All Rights Reserved.

Shamus Brown is a Professional Sales Coach and former high-tech sales pro who began his career selling for IBM. Shamus has written more than 50 articles on selling and is the creator of the popular Persuasive Selling Skills CD Audio Program. You can read more of Shamus Brown's sales tips at http://Sales-Tips.industrialEGO.com/ and you can learn more about his persuasive sales skills training at http://www.Persuasive-Sales-Skills.com/

---

An Introduction to B2B Lead Generation

It is important that organizations find other companies to do... Read More

The Force That Drives Buying Decisions

What do people buy? They don't buy your wonderful presentation.... Read More

More Cleaning and Janitorial Customers Using Yahoo

We use this method to find new cleaningcustomers, and it... Read More

Cold Calling Reluctance

Most salespeople I know consider cold calling a dreadful, but... Read More

Everything in Life is Selling

Robert Louis Stevenson said 'Everything in Life is Selling' and... Read More

Stop Screwing Up Your Sales Letter

"Sales Letter"... that's your web site's sales page. The page... Read More

Peddlers, Hucksters, & Empty Suits

Ever feel like you were "just a salesperson"? I think... Read More

I Don?t Want To Be Sold; I Want To Buy

I went shopping for clothes today.My plan was to buy... Read More

Selling for Beginners

Speak to almost any self employed professional and most of... Read More

Want More Sales? Write A Barry Bonds Sales Letter

I'm not a baseball fan. Never have been. In fact,... Read More

The Biggest Mistake In Selling!

Some trainers and sales managers teach that there are prospects... Read More

Create A Killer Product by Writing Your Sales Letter First!

You may not realize this, but when if you are... Read More

2 ½ Steps to Sales Success

You have just walked out of the office of a... Read More

Define Your Best Customer

To be more effective at developing relationships, one should always... Read More

How To Make The Most Out of a Business Networking Event

You're not alone. Most people are uncomfortable walking into a... Read More

How To Profit From Initial Consultations

"I'd love to work with you, but?"How many times have... Read More

Mortgage Leads, Choosing the Best Option

When it comes to buying mortgage leads, there are many... Read More

People Buy People So Sell On Relationships

(Objection handling tips excerpted from Objections! Objections! Objections!)People buy people.... Read More

How To Shorten The Selling Cycle And Reduce Buying Stalls

The main reason for buyer resistance and selling stalls boils... Read More

Can You Use Hynotic Like Statements To Sell More Products?

As I become more successful with my internet business I... Read More

How to Revive a Dead Lead

It's easy to spend days, weeks, or months speaking with... Read More

Customer Loyalty in the Technology Industry

For technology companies, service after the sale has emerged on... Read More

The Most Important Word in a Business Letter

What do you think it is? Many experts insist it's... Read More

Get the Most Out of Your Current Customer

The customers you already have could be your biggest lead... Read More

10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now

1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your... Read More

An Introduction to Mannequins

Just about every clothing store uses mannequins. There are many... Read More

Stuff We Make Up About Our Prospects

? Go through the "no's" to get to "yes." ?... Read More

6 Steps on How to Install Confidence Into Your Clients

What methods can we use to install confidence into your... Read More

Sales 101: Handling The Angry Customer

I am often reminded of the following true story whenever... Read More

Packaging Maketh the Person

The multi million pound cosmetics industry is acutely aware of... Read More

What is Lead Generation?

Lead Generation is vital to all businesses. All companies try... Read More

How to Sell Your Products Without Competition

Selling your products at shows can be difficult when you... Read More

The Best Day In The Week

The best day of the week is TODAY, of course.... Read More